Yasiin Bey

Yasiin Bey (/jæˈsiːn ˈbeɪ/; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def, is an American retired rapper, singer-songwriter, and actor. Regarded as one of hip hop's most introspective and insightful artists, Mos Def, has shaped a career that transcends music genres and artistic medium. With the release of "Universal Magnetic" (1996), he became an underground favorite in the hip-hop world, leading to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli. The two formed Black Star whose debut album, Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, would become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. He followed with his 1999 solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified gold and credited by critics as bringing hip hop back to its soapbox roots. He was a former child actor in television films, sitcoms, and theater, and continued acting as an adult after launching his rap career. He appeared in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera, 2002's critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, Showtime, and the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination. He hosted Def Poetry Jam from 2002 to 2007. He completed his Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony-nominated, Pulitzer Prize-winning, Topdog/Underdog. He then re-teamed with Topdog playwright, Suzan Lori Parks and director George Wolfe for the off-Broadway play Fucking A, for which he earned an Obie Award. In 2003, he starred in The Italian Job alongside Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. In 2004, he starred opposite Alan Rickman in the critically acclaimed HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he received a 2004 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie. He was also nominated for both a Golden Globe Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture) and Golden Satellite Award (Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television) for the same role. He continued his music career by releasing his highly anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore solo release, The New Danger (2004). The first single, "Sex, Love and Money" earned him a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance, and the album has been certified gold by the RIAA. The following year, he appeared alongside Bruce Willis in the crime thriller 16 Blocks (2006), in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, and had a cameo appearance in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Also in 2006, he released his third solo album, True Magic. The next year, he appeared in the 2007 PBS historical documentary, Prince Among Slaves, and in 2008 he played the role of Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records. In 2009, he released the album The Ecstatic, which proved to be his second highest-charting album to date. He then appeared in the urban comedy Next Day Air, and (as himself) in the 2010 mockumentary film I’m Still Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Mos Def announced in September of 2011 that he changed his name to Yasiin Bey, and would go by it henceforth. In the first month of 2016, Bey declared his retirement from both the film and music industries. In 2014, About.com listed him 14th on its "50 Greatest Rappers of All Time".

Known For: Acting

Born: Brooklyn, New York, USA, 1973-12-11

Died: null

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1988	God Bless the Child	Richard Watkins	63
2	1991	The Hard Way	Dead Romeos	62
3	1992	Split Images	Curtis Roy	0
4	1997	Ghosts	Dante	80
5	1998	Where's Marlowe?	Wilt Crawley	57
6	2000	Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme	Himself	69
7	2000	Island of the Dead	Robbie J	34
8	2000	Bamboozled	Mau Mau: Big Blak Afrika	62
9	2001	Carmen: A Hip Hopera	Lt. Miller	62
10	2001	Monster's Ball	Ryrus Cooper	68
11	2002	Showtime	Lazy Boy	55
12	2002	Brown Sugar	Chris Anton 'Cav' Vichon	67
13	2003	Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!!	Self	80
14	2003	Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised	Himself	0
15	2003	The Italian Job	Left Ear	68
16	2003	Civil Brand	Michael Meadows	67
17	2004	Something the Lord Made	Vivien Thomas	77
18	2004	The Woodsman	Sgt. Lucas	69
19	2005	Lackawanna Blues	The Bandleader	59
20	2005	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Ford Prefect	67
21	2005	Don't Crash: The Documentary of the Making of the Movie of the Book of the Radio Series of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'	Self	0
22	2005	Dave Chappelle's Block Party	Self - (as Mos Def)	68
23	2006	Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops		0
24	2006	16 Blocks	Eddie Bunker	64
25	2006	Journey to the End of the Night	Wemba	59
26	2006	Coachella	Self (Interviewee)	64
27	2006	September in Brooklyn: The Making of Block Party	Self	0
28	2006	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	Mos Def	64
29	2008	In Prison My Whole Life	Self	0
30	2008	Be Kind Rewind	Mike	63
31	2008	Prince Among Slaves	Narrator	60
32	2008	Cadillac Records	Chuck Berry	71
33	2009	Next Day Air	Eric	52
34	2010	The Making of Plastic Beach	Mos Def	0
35	2010	Bouncing Cats		0
36	2010	I'm Still Here	Mos Def	60
37	2011	Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest	Self	72
38	2011	A Man's Story	Self	69
39	2012	Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap	Self	67
40	2013	Standard Operating Procedure		0
41	2013	Life of Crime	Ordell Robbie	58
42	2014	Begin Again	Saul	72
43	2015	Amy	Self	76
44	2016	French Tour	Focé	53
45	2019	Gorillaz: Reject False Icons	Mos Def	76
46	2021	Peculiar Contrast, Perfect Light		0
47	2021	You're Watching Video Music Box	Self (archive footage)	64
48	2022	Hargrove	Self	70
49	2023	Part of Me	Himself	0
50	2023	Gorillaz \| MTV World Stage	Mos Def	80

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Performer	51
2	1975	Saturday Night Live	Self - Musical Guest	70
3	1990	You Take the Kids	Raymond Kirkland	60
4	1992	HBO First Look	Self	49
5	1992	Here and Now	Alonzo	60
6	1994	The Cosby Mysteries		53
7	1996	Spin City	Monty	71
8	1997	The View	Self	45
9	1997	Brooklyn South	Darius	97
10	2001	My Wife and Kids		74
11	2001	The Proud Family	Mos Def (voice)	78
12	2003	Chappelle's Show	Self - Black Star	81
13	2003	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Self	55
14	2003	Real Time with Bill Maher	Self	60
15	2004	House	Lee	86
16	2005	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Self	68
17	2005	The Boondocks		81
18	2006	Dexter	Brother Sam	82
19	2022	jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy	Self (archive footage)	69

Yasiin Bey

Film

Television